1. Field of the Invention.
This invention relates to a method for treating HMX or RDX to render it wettable by or chemically attachable to a binder.
2. Description of the Prior Art.
The technique of "spray drying" is well known. For example, it is commonly used in the weather modification field. In that field, drops of solutions of weather modification material are sprayed into the air whereupon the solvent evaporates and fine crystals of the weather modification material form to float down through the air and provide condensation nuclei. Spray drying is also used commercially to produce some well known food commodities. And spray drying has been used to form very fine particles of HMX.
To form fine particles of HMX, the HMX is simply dissolved in a suitable solvent and droplets of the solution are sprayed into warm air whereupon the solvent evaporates and the fine particles are formed much in the same manner as indicated above in connection with weather modification.
One reason for making fine particles of HMX is to provide for good mechanical properties. The fineness contributes to the "toughness" of a propellant made from the explosive. However, even very fine particles of HMX are difficult to wet. That is, the binder in plastic bonded explosives and propellants that contain HMX often pulls away from the HMX leaving voids and cracks that are well known to be undesireable. The same is, of course, true of RDX.